Can You Repeat That?
by 88KeysOfSadism
Summary: A mission goes wrong, leaving a certain bird with a very big problem. Wait, what was that? Rated for the first chapter. Supermarian, hints of Spitfire, Team bonding, and DaddyBats
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a challenge I received from Lolzersgirl. **

**There is so much I can do with this prompt! But she requested the Team, Harley, and Joker, so I'm going to go with it. **

**As a side note, if any of you guys ever have a challenge for me, I'd love to try it. I know I have a couple I need to be working on, and I will get to those, although a reminder would be good sometimes.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS**

**Also, this story is in no way connected to Tribulation. **

It had started out as a normal mission. Recon, don't get involved. Stay out of sight, report back what you see, don't engage unless absolutely necessary. And then Wally had tripped through a skylight.

It all went downhill from there.

_Seriously. How do you trip INTO a skylight? _Robin's voice was somewhere between highly amused and majorly irritated.

_Well how was I supposed to know there was no glass!? _Wally was currently racing around the room, collecting guns from the people shooting at them.

Yeah, there were guns.

_Gee, I don't know,_ replied Artemis, firing some arrows from the rafters. _Maybe you could use your EYES, Kid Idiot._

_I did use my eyes!_ he protested. _It's just that I couldn't tell that there was no glass, so I thought I could run across the roof, but then-_

_Enough,_ came Aqualad's voice. _We have the mission to focus on._

The mind link quickly falls silent as each member of the team focuses on their own mini-battle. Robin was fighting four men at least twice his size, and winning easily. He cackled as one lunged at him and missed by at least three feet.

"Is that the best you have?" he asked with a grin and another laugh. Almost instantly, the man swung again with his fist. Robin ducked with ease and knocked the guy off his feet.

_Dude, quit with the laughing. It's making my head hurt. _Wally sent a glare at his best friend before zooming off to the other side of the room.

Robin paled slightly. _Wally, I'm not laughing anymore._

_What?_ The yellow flash that was Kid Flash stopped moving. _If you're not laughing, who is?_

_Get out. _Robin's voice was dead serious in their minds. Wally could see his friend vanish into the shadows across the room as the laughter gets louder.

"Hello, kiddies!" Joker grinned, entering from the shadows Robin had just vanished into. The room fell silent, gunshots and fighting at a momentary pause.

"You're supposed to be locked up," said Superboy. "With the rest of the Injustice League."

The Joker fell into a fit of hysterical giggles. "Lighten up, Supey!" he said between breaths. "That place was just so boring… So I made a few calls!" More laughter sounds from the darkness.

Wally paled significantly. _Harley, _he thought to himself. _He brought Harley along._

_Who? _asked Miss Martian, confused.

Grunts and the sounds of fighting came from the shadows. The Joker turned around, confused. "Harley?" he asked curiously.

"Look who I found, Mistah J!" Harley sounded simply elated.

The Joker cocked his head to the side. "What is it, darlin'?"

Robin, handcuffed and gagged, was tossed from the shadows towards the Joker's feet. The team gasped in horror, but the Joker looked absolutely delighted.

"Isn' it great, puddin'?" Harley walked up to the Joker's side, an oversized mallet over her shoulder and a huge grin on her face.

"Bird Boy!" The Joker ignored Harley and walked closer to said hero, a huge grin spread across his cheeks. "It's been simply forever! Why don't you ever come to visit your good ol' Uncle J anymore?"

Robin flinched and edged away. Wally swore under his breath.

Joker hauled Robin to his feet, pulling a knife out of his pocket. He placed the switchblade against Robin's throat. Robin swallowed hard and fell silent.

Superboy growled and started forwards, but Kid Flash gripped his arm. _You'll make it worse._

_I'll save his neck._

_Not before he slits my throat._

Wally breathed a slight sight of relief.

_For having a knife to your throat, you seem awfully calm. _No one missed the slight waver in Artemis' voice.

_Yeah, I've done this before. _The Joker leaned forward and began muttering in Robin's ear. The color in the boy's face vanished. _Wally, get Batman._

_But-_

_Now._

_Okay, okay! I'm going! _Wally bit his lip in concern, then pulled his goggles down and ran for it.

_W-where are you going? _asked Miss Martian.

_To get Batman. Stay here._

_Like we have a choice, _grumbled Superboy.

Suddenly, Joker threw Robin back to the floor. The Boy Wonder moaned and allowed himself to roll across the floor. Harley shrieked with excitement.

_Omigosh, Robin, are you okay?_

_I'm fine, Miss M. _His voice was just a little bit softer.

_That Joker girl is really getting on my nerves, _muttered Artemis.

"Harley, be a dear and go get my bags," said the Joker with a huge grin.

"O' course, Mistah J! I'll be back before ya know it!" She skipped off.

_She does that,_ muttered Robin, getting slowly to his feet.

"Look at that!" Joker grinned and walked forwards. "Always resilient, aren't you, Boy Blonder." He continued to walk closer, pausing inches in front of the bird. "It's really quite funny." With that, the Joker, punched the gagged hero in the gut backhanded him across the face, sending him back to the floor.

_Robin! _Superboy took a turn as the mature one as Artemis started forward.

_Don't, _he warned.

The Joker laughed as Robin stayed on the ground. _Don't worry guys; I'm fine. Stay traught._ The slightest trace of a grin passed over Robin's lips behind the gag.

_How can you joke when you're like this!?_

_Relax, Arty; I've had years of practice. _His voice sounded worn out and tired.

Before Artemis could reply, an obnoxious voice sounded through the room. "Oh Mistah J!" called Harley in a singsong voice, dragging a duffel bag behind her.

"Did you get it?" The Joker was practically hopping with glee, and Robin's eyes widened.

"Of course I did!" She placed the bag at Joker's feet. "That thing's heavy. Whatcha got in there, puddin'?"

"You'll find out, Harley dear." He unzipped the bag. "Let's see… What are we going to play with this time?"

_Play? What does he mean by play? Robin?_

_Not now, Artemis…_

"Hmm…" He tapped his chin in thought. "How about this?" He pulled out a blood spattered baseball bat. Robin flinched away as the Joker brought it towards his face. "Oh wait; I haven't cleaned that yet!" He began to laugh again and threw the bat away from him. It rolled near Miss Martian, who backed away from it.

_Robin, that's not your blood, is it?_

He didn't reply as the Joker continued to dig through the bag. "Maybe this?" The clown pulls out a pistol. "No… Too quick, right Bird Boy?" Robin said nothing, closing his eyes. Shrugging, the Joker threw the gun across the room.

_Robin?_

"Ooo! How about this?" After fishing through the back for several seconds, the Joker somehow managed to produce a small flamethrower.

"Hey! Boy Blundah!" Harley planted a kick in the side of the bound hero. Robin winced and his eyes flew open. Most of the team winced. His eyes caught sight of the flame thrower and grew wide again.

_Not again._

_Again!? _The cries of his team mates rang out in his head, and he cringed.

_I forgot this thing was up…_ Robin sounded very guilty.

Joker giggled and pulled the trigger. Robin's entire body tensed, and he clenched his eyes shut again.

"Oh phooey." The Joker sighed. "All out of fuel." He tossed the weapon away.

The entire team- Robin included- let out a sigh of relief.

"That all, Mistah J?" asked Harley, sounding almost sad.

"Of course not, Pooh." He grinned evilly and dug around in the bag again. Robin kept his eyes shut.

_Robin, has this man used that weapon on you before? _

Robin felt immensely guilty at the sound of his team leader's voice. _I-it was only once and it wasn't really that bad… _He swallowed hard.

_Wasn't that bad!? Robin, that's a flamethrower; how can it be "not really that bad!?"_

_Artemis, please; it's just-_

"Ah ha!" The Joker sat up, clutching a crowbar in his hand. "There we are!"

Robin paled even further. _H-hey Miss M?_

_Y-yeah?_

_C-can you take me out of the link?_

_What!? Why!? _demanded Artemis.

Joker started to laugh. "Remember this? Look! There's still some from last time; see?" He pointed out the little blots of blood covering the metal.

_Is that yours? _ asked Superboy quietly

Robin didn't reply.

"Why so quiet, Little Bird?" The Joker's voice darkened dangerously, and even Harley moved away a bit. In a sudden mood swing, a smile split his face once more. "It's the gag, isn't it? Here, let me get rid of that…"

Robin flinched away as the Joker produced another knife with a flourish and a grin. "Just hold still, Birdie." He twisted a hand into the hero's hair, holding his head still. Joker swept the knife down, slicing easily through the gag and part of Robin's face. Robin winced as the gag fell to the floor.

_M'gann, please. You have to take me out of this. My memories will start flying into your head, and you don't want that._

"Now, back to business…" The Joker walked back to his crowbar. Robin turned his head to meet Miss Martian's gaze.

_Please._

Tears streaming down her face, M'gann slowly nodded. Her eyes glowed green for just a second before Robin smiled sadly and mouthed, 'thank you.'

"Here we are! Just like old times, right?" The crowbar swung down and everyone looked away as the metal made contact with flesh. Robin grunted with pain as the Joker laughed.

Hits rained down over and over and over. Even Harley wasn't watching anymore, instead fascinating herself with the tears streaming down Miss Martian's face. The team had moved closer to each other, but stayed away from Robin and Joker, for fear of worsening the situation.

"What's wrong, Miss Greenie?" she taunted, grinning at the Martian. "Ya don' like that?"

M'gann turned away towards Superboy, who glowered at the clown.

A sickening crack rang through the room, followed by a short cry of pain from Robin.

"Ooo, I hope that wasn't anything too important!" Joker laughed, clutching his stomach. "That sounded pretty bad… Rib, Bird Boy?" He kicked Robin in the side, who cried out again.

Robin began breathing heavily, his face screwed up in pain. Joker was curled over in a fit of giggles, while the team watched on in horror.

A crash of glass came from the other side of the building. Almost instantly, the Joker fell silent.

"I-I'll check it out, puddin'." Harley handed the Joker her mallet before heading into the shadows.

Silence hung heavy in the air for a few moments before Harley shrieked. "B-man? But you're supposed to- oof." A thud was heard from the darkness.

The Joker's grin dropped. "No! No, no, no, no, no!" Batman stepped out of the darkness. Robin could see him. The Boy Wonder smiled in relief.

"Let him go, Joker," growled Batman,

Joker frowned, which Artemis thought was much scarier than his smile. "Fine. If I can't have him, no one can."

"Robin!" Batman started running towards his protégé.

Robin looked up just in time to see the Joker swinging down the oversized mallet. It crashed into his skull. There was a blinding pain, and then nothing.

**Oooo…. I haven't even gotten into the challenge part yet, but I promise that's next!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Finally got this done, ugh. I can only really write on weekends right now, and I decided to get another chapter done on this. Tribulation is next; promise.**

**I DON'T OWN THIS**

Wally sighed and closed his eyes again. This was the third time in an hour he'd woken up, which was weird, considering he'd always been a deep sleeper. He settled back into his chair again.

It had been three days since the… incident with Joker in the warehouse. Incident…

Wally snorted. That's what they were calling it. An "incident." That made it sound like it was an accident. That was a terrible name for what happened. If it had been up to him, he would have called it a…

He didn't know what he would have called it.

Wally sat back up. His head hurt. Too much thinking, he decided.

Lying in front of him, nearly smothered in stark white blankets, was his best friend. Robin.

Dick.

The Boy Wonder had been completely unconscious for all three days. Though Wally didn't want to admit it, he looked almost… dead.

He wasn't of course, but if you ignored the heart monitor and only saw the paleness and the bandages and the bruises and the wires, then…

Wally shook his head to clear it. He wasn't going to think about that.

"Rob's not going to die," he muttered.

He was alone in the room. His team was watching a movie, though he had denied the offer. His place was by Robin's side. Usually, Wally would have accepted to get his mind off things, but this was a different situation.

Batman wasn't even on the planet. He'd left the day after the failed mission. Wally had refused to leave Dick's side since, except for food. He knew how afraid his friend was of being alone. Waking up in solitude would be bad.

Wally watched his motionless friend. "You've got to wake up, Dick," he muttered.

A few hours later, Wally snapped awake again. He hadn't even realized that he'd fallen asleep. He closed his eyes again almost instantly. He'd been doing this for the past twenty four hours; jerking awake at even the thought of Robin moving. Robin hadn't moved even once.

Another groan was heard. Wally's eyes flew open. "Rob?"

Robin's eyes were wide open as well, but Wally could read pain all over his face. Smiling, the speedster stood up.

"Robinohmygoshyou'refinallyawake! I'vebeenwaitingforlikeforever! You'vebeenoutforthreedaysandiwassuperworriedbecauseyoudidn'tevenmoveandalland…"

Robin's eyes narrowed in confusion. "D-dude, sl-" He looked confused again.

"Sorry; too fast; you just woke up."

Robin still looked confused, and now worried. "S-sorry… S-say it sslower…"

Now it was Wally's turn to look confused. "Dude, what's wrong with your voice?"

Robin took several seconds to reply. "N-nothing."

"You're stuttering and stuff. And your voice sounds kind of weird…"

"N-no I-I'm not," was the delayed reply.

"And you're delayed."

"S-sorry." It was only slightly delayed this time.

Wally narrowed his eyes. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing…"

"Liar."

Robin said nothing, struggling to sit up. He winced and fell back on the bed, rubbing his head. "W-what's with the b-bandage?"

"Dude, don't you remember?"

Robin thought for a minute, closing his eyes.

"You don't have amnesia, right? You remember who I am, right?"

There was no reply.

"Hey, Robin?"

Said hero still said nothing, biting his lip.

"Rooobin…"

There was still no reply.

"Hey Dick, what's wrong? Are you just ignoring me?" After a few more moments of silence, Wally shook his friend's shoulder.

Robin's eyes snapped open. "I-I remember what h-happened, yeah."

Wally's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't what I asked."

"I-it wasn't?" Robin looked confused. "B-but you-"

Realization dawned on Wally's face. "You can't hear me, can you."

"W-what makes y-you-"

"I've seen enough movies, bro. You sound just like those deaf people. And you didn't know what I was saying. You're just reading my lips, aren't you?"

Dick looked down, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?" Wally sat down next to his friend on the bed.

Robin said nothing. Wally realized he was looking down and poked him in the shoulder.

"What?" The Boy Wonder looked up again, his bottom lip trembling.

Wally noticed it immediately. "Bro…" Without really thinking about his friend's injuries, he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. He could feel Robin's wince, but within seconds, Dick had his arms wrapped around Wally as well, burying his face in his friend's shoulder.

As was expected, Robin refused to let any tears fall. But his breath was shaky. Wally refused to remove his arms until Robin pulled away and started making hand signs.

"Uh, Rob? I don't know sign language…"

Robin bit his lip. "O-okay. W-where is B-Bruce?"

"League mission," said Wally slowly. "He's on a different planet."

Now Wally was sure his friend was about to cry. "Wait! The team is here! I'll go get them!" Wally sprang off the bed and ran towards the door.

"W-Wally, wait!"

Robin's cry was lost as Wally sped through the mountain. He finally stopped in the living room.

"Heyguys!" he shouted, his words blurring together. "Robin'sawakeandheneedspeopletobebyhimandbatsisn'thereandhealsocan'thearanythingandhe'slyingaboutitandI'mreallyscaredbecausehe'skindofdeafandIdon'tknowwhattodoaboutitand-"

Artemis smacked Wally upside the head. "Slow down, Kid Mouth."

Wally rubbed the side of his head. "Right. Sorry."

"What has happened?" asked Aqualad, rising to his feet.

"Umm, Robin's awake…"

"That is good!" The team began to smile at one another.

"Yeah, but-"

"Can we see him?" asked Miss Martian excitedly, floating out of her chair a bit.

Wally scratched the back of his head. He knew his best friend shouldn't be alone, but also knew he didn't want to seem weak. But he didn't have a choice. "Yeah, okay. C'mon." He headed back at a more normal pace, the team following behind him.

"Is he okay?"

"He doesn't have amnesia, right?"

"He is not in too much pain, is he?"

Wally scrunched up his face. "Uh, sort of, no, and I don't know."

"How can you not know if he's in pain?" asked Superboy, confused.

Wally shrugged. "I'm not the best at reading people." Well that was a complete lie. Wally could read Dick like a book. But he also knew that his friend was in more mental pain than physical right now.

The team stopped outside of the medical bay. "Umm, lemme go in and talk to him real quick. You can come inside in like five minutes." Wally walked inside, leaving his team outside.

Robin was sitting up in bed, legs swung over the side as he tried to stand.

"Dude!" Wally was by his side in an instant, helping him back onto the bed. "What are you doing!?"

Robin flinched at Wally's touch, becoming immediately defensive. After recognizing Wally, he said nothing, shaking as he sat there in an upright position.

"What were you thinking?" asked Wally slowly, making eye contact with the injured boy.

"I-I don't know…"

Wally sighed. "Right. The team is outside; they want to see you."

"Did you tell them?" His voice still sounded weird, but his responses were less delayed.

"No, but Rob, you can't hide this from them forever. They'll figure it out eventually."

Robin nodded. "Don't tell them, okay?"

Wally looked torn for a second before nodding. "Okay. But I don't see why you don't trust them."

"I do," Robin protested. "It's just-"

"Robin?" M'gann poked her head inside the door.

The Boy Wonder noticed the presence of his team mate. He responded with a shaky "H-hi…"

She smiled and walked further into the room, the rest of the team following. "How are you?" she asked, excited. "We were really worried; you were out for such a long time, and-"

"Megan, slow down," said Artemis, smiling a bit. "He just woke up; you'll give him a headache."

"A headache?" Miss Martian turned around to face her friend. "How would that give him a headache? I mean, I would understand if…"

Wally tuned out the conversation, looking down at his best friend. Robin stared ahead, a small but very fake smile on his lips. Sighing, he placed a gentle hand on the younger's shoulder.

Dick looked up at him. If it had been anyone else, he would have seemed just happy to be around his friends. But Wally knew him better than that. He could read the confusion, worry, and sorrow in his friend's gaze, even with the mask on.

"Robin?" The team had moved closer, and only now had Superboy realized that the injured boy wasn't listening. Wally squeezed Dick's shoulder lightly, nodding slightly towards Superboy.

Robin turned his head to look at Superboy. "What?"

"Robin, are you alright?" Aqualad looked at him, concerned.

It didn't take Wally very long to realize that his best friend hadn't seen Aqualad speaking. "He's just tired," he said, speaking for his friend.

"Well you should sleep then," said Artemis. "We'll leave so you can rest, okay?"

Robin glanced up, confused. Wally just nodded. "Yeah. We'll get out of your way so you can rest, Rob."

Dick's expression changed to one of fear and worry. "Okay." His voice was still slightly hesitant.

Wally helped his friend lay back down. "It's okay. I'll come back. I'm not going to be gone for long."

Robin nodded and laid down slowly, wincing a bit. Wally smiled at him, then followed his team out of the room. Wally was the last one out, and he turned the lights off as he left.

"C-can you turn them back on?" asked Robin in a whisper. "Please?"

"Of course." Wally knew his friend couldn't hear him, but figured the return of light would be a good enough response.

"Thanks…"

Wally smiled a bit and walked out of the room. As soon as the door had closed behind him, he realized that his team was still standing there, looking mad.

"You owe us one heck of an explanation," said Artemis, crossing her arms. "What aren't you telling us?"

**Has anyone figured out what the challenge was yet?**


End file.
